


Curamentum

by HeWasIncredible



Category: Steven Universe (Cartoon)
Genre: Angst, Connie x Steven - Freeform, Corruption, F/M, Hugging, Kissing, Love, Romance, SU - Freeform, Steven x Connie, Stevonnie - Freeform, Support, Young Love, connverse - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-01-05
Updated: 2017-04-26
Packaged: 2018-09-15 02:24:24
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 17,017
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9214700
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HeWasIncredible/pseuds/HeWasIncredible
Summary: Steven blames himself for Connie getting very injured on a mission and starts worrying about her. The thought of hurting a person he loves consumes his every thought, even enough to cause a tear in the fabric of his mind.





	1. Just The Beginning

**Author's Note:**

> This fic is a collab between me and another author on tumblr

Steven, Connie, and Pearl came walking down the center of a ravine, listening closely for the sounds of a corrupted gem.

"Now, you two, since this mission is a test to see if you can fight on your own, I'll be standing back and examining you two while you're in action." Pearl told the pair.

"Yes, ma'am!" Steven and Connie both said at the same time.

Everyone came to a halt when they heard a roar echo throughout the ravine.

"We're getting close." Pearl whispered.

Connie instinctively slipped her hand into Steven's; a thing she does when she's is nervous.

"It's okay, Connie, we can fuse to fight the monster." Steven said, reassuring Connie.

Connie smiled, leaning against the side of Steven slightly.

"You're the best." Connie said with a half-smile.

"Nuh-uh! You are!" Steven said, giggling.

Connie also giggled, only to be hushed by Pearl seconds later.

"Focus, you two. Any loud noises could startle the monster and make it run away." Pearl whispered, holding her finger up to her own lips.

Everyone slowly walked down the ravine, eventually coming to turn.

"Steven, Connie, peek around the corner to see if the monster is there." Pearl ordered.

Steven and Connie did as told, slowly leaning their faces around the corner. The two both spotted out a giant bear-looking corrupted gem, immediately leaning their faces back behind the wall.

"So was there anything?" Pearl asked.

"Y-yes." Connie responded with a shiver.

"Then why are you just standing there? Are you gonna go and poof it?" Pearl asked.

Steven and Connie locked eyes, giving each other a quick nod.

Within seconds, Stevonnie stood before Pearl, and they immediately summoned their shield and pulled their sword out of the scabbard on their back. Stevonnie sprung into action, leaping out from behind the wall and running at the corrupted gem, which immediately spotted them and snarled. The monster swung an arm at the fusion when they got near, hitting them and causing them to loose their balance, making them fall to the ground with a thump.

"You can do this." Stevonnie mumbled to themself, hopping back up onto their feet just in time to deflect one of the monster's arms with their shield.

Stevonnie hurled the shield in their hand at the monster's face, having it smash against it's eyes and distract it.

This is the perfect opportunity, Stevonnie thought, the perfect opportunity to poof it.

Stevonnie slid under the corrupted gem, thrusting their sword into it's chest.

The monster stood still as it realized that it had just been impaled with the blade of a sword. Suddenly, it fell to it's side and hit one of the walls of the ravine, then disappearing with a poof.

Pearl ran toward Stevonnie with open arms, a smile across her face. Stevonnie also opened their arms, hugging Pearl when she reached them.

"You did great, Stevonnie!" Pearl started, "When you got hit by the monster and fell to the ground, I was worried I'd have to come out and help you! but nope! You proved me wrong! I can't wait to tell Garnet about this!"

Suddenly, Stevonnie was replaced with pink light, their components falling out of it and onto the ground.

"Thanks, Pearl." Steven and Connie said at the same time.

Steven and Connie looked at each other, smiling.

"We did great!." Steven said to Connie, leaning over and hugging her.

Connie blushed, hugging him back.

Suddenly, a rumbling sound was heard throughout the ravine.

"Oh no! When the monster hit the wall it must have caused an avalanche of rocks!" Pearl shouted, pointing up at the arrangement of small and large rocks that feel from above

Steven and Connie hopped onto their feet, Connie grabbing Steven's hand, and both of them started running down the ravine, trying to get to the warp that was only a block away.

Pearl was out of sight, and Steven and Connie wondered where she had gone.

"Pearl!" Steven called out in hopes that he would get some sort of response.

No response.

"Pearl!" Steven and Connie called at the same time.

Still no response.

Steven looked over to Connie, seeing tears in her eyes and a look of worry spread across her face.

"Steven," Connie started, "if we don't make it out of here alive, I just wanted to say... I-I l-"

Connie was cut off as she tripped over a stone, falling face first onto the ground.

"Connie!" Steven shouted, kneeling down and lifting Connie's face up from the ground lightly.

She was unconscious.

Steven licked his palm, about to heal Connie with his spit, only to feel a sudden shock of pain rush through his head as something heavy hit it.

Then there was darkness.

* * *

 

Steven jolted up, immediately feeling a sharp pain in his head.

"You should lay back down. You took quite a hit." Garnet said, looking at Steven in the eyes.

Steven laid back down.

"W-what happened?" Steven asked, putting his hand up to his forehead and feeling a bandage.

"You were hit in the head with a giant rock." Garnet responded.

Steven couldn't remember anything.

How did he get here?

Why was he hit in the head with a rock?

What was he doing to get hit in the head with a rock?

"Garnet, why was I hit in the head with a rock." Steven asked.

"Pearl said that a corrupted gem hit a wall of the ravine and caused a rock avalanche." Garnet responded.

A corrupted gem? Why was I near a corrupted gem, Steven thought.

"Steven! You're awake!" Pearl shouted as she walked in the door. "I can't believe it! I went to go and find a safe path that would take us to the top of the ravine, but you two ran off! I found both of you lying on the ground knocked out."

Wait, "You two."? Who was the other person, Steven thought.

"Pearl, who was the other person?" Steven asked, worried to hear the answer.

Garnet turned toward Pearl, locking eyes with her.

"You.. Don't remember?" Pearl asked.

Steven froze, knowing who it most likely was.

"It was Connie." Pearl said quickly.

Steven froze.

"Where is she!?" Steven shouted.

"In the hospital.." Pearl responded with a sigh. "I just got back from dropping her off."

Steven hopped off of his bed, running down the stairs.

"Wait!" Pearl called after him.

Steven stopped just before running out the door.

"Steven, just stay here for now." Pearl said, meeting eyes with him.

"B-but I can heal her!" Steven shouted.

"Steven, try healing the cut that's going all the way down your head." Pearl said.

Steven spit into his palm, placing it on the top of his own head.

Nothing happened.

"You're too stressed out, meaning your healing powers won't work." said Pearl, "Now go lye on your bed again. Standing up is gonna make your cut hurt more."

Steven would've argued, but deep down he knew that Pearl was right. There's no point in him going to the hospital if his powers didn't work.

He was scared. Connie could be very injured, even injured enough to maybe be... No, he was not even going to think of that possibility.


	2. The First Of Many Tears

Steven pulled at the knot made in his bandages absentmindedly. It had only been a few days since the incident on the mission, but it seemed as if his gem was accelerating his healing. He sat in his bed, his knees tucked in toward his chest, his mind empty. He focused on the dull ache pulsing through his temples, and the slight sting tracing along his scalp. He was told he had a "concussion," and that he shouldn't move too much, or do any puzzles, or something like that. Steven slowly breathed in, focusing on his pain, and breathed out. He knew focusing on his pain wasn't enjoyable, but if he focused on anything else his mind would begin racing as he worried for Connie. A slight knock on the door shook him from his eerie silence.

"Steven, how are you feeling?" Pearl said, walking in slowly through the doorway. She flipped a switch and the lights flared angrily as Steven winced. "Oh, light sensitivity, I completely forgot! Human anatomy reacts so…adversely to injury" Pearl pondered, dimming the lights once again. She gazed at Steven, his face was blank, and he sat still as a statue, unmoving.

"How is Connie?" He croaked.

"She's still…recovering." Pearl said, handing Steven a mug of warm tea. The steam from the warm water wafted into Steven's face, and he gazed into his own reflection in the water for a moment.

Pearl was hiding something.

"What's wrong?" Steven asked, his voice shaking slightly. Connie was hurt because he was too slow. If he'd been faster, Connie wouldn't be hurt.

"She's…asleep." Pearl answered, her eyes shifting away from Steven. He gazed towards her face, his mind taking a moment to process.

"Asleep? What do you mean?" Steven pressed, and he leaned towards Pearl. A small twinge of pain went through his head as he shifted forwards.

"She's asleep…and…she hasn't woken up yet." Pearl said, her eyes searching for forgiveness as she looked towards him. She took a breath, holding back her tears. "She's comatose."

Steven slumped back into the back of his bed. He turned towards the photo he had of her, then gazed at Pearl longingly.

"I have to see her, please." Steven begged, tears overflowing from his eyelids, his vision blurred momentarily until the droplet rolled over the ridge of his eyelid, and slid down his face. All it took was one sentence, and guilt filled him in a single moment. "I can...I have to try…" Steven stumbled over his words as he held back torrents of guilt and sorrow.

"Okay." Pearl said.

"R-really?" Steven asked, wiping his cheek with his arm. He sniffled for a moment, and gazed towards her, surprised. Every time he'd asked, Pearl had told him he wasn't well enough.

"Yes, you…you need this." Pearl whispered, her face unreadable as she reached out for Steven's hand. She helped him to his feet, and assisted him as he walked towards the bathroom. "You'll have to wear sunglasses, you're still light sensitive." Pearl muttered under her breath, handing Steven a pair of shades. He gazed at them for a moment, then quickly put them on. He'd do anything to visit Connie, just for the _chance_ to fix what he'd done wrong. Pearl dialed a number on her phone quickly as she handed Steven a shirt and a pair of pants. He got changed quickly, and adjusted his bandages, looking in the mirror. He thought for a moment as he gazed into the mirror. A thought crossed his mind, _Maybe we'll get matching scars!_ Steven shook his head as he thought this, worry eclipsing his thoughts once more, _But…it's my fault we're hurt, and she might not even…no, she has to. She has to wake up._

"Steven, it's irrational to blame yourself for this, there's nothing you could have done." Pearl said to Steven, he saw the look of guilt on his face, it was plain that he blamed himself, it was something so much like him.

"If I had…I should've bubbled us! I—I should've thrown my shield, or _something_! Anything!" Steven said, he gripped his face in his hands, his sunglasses bending slightly under the pressure of his grip.

"Steven, you did everything you cou—"

" _I didn't! And now she could die!"_ Steven screamed, his eye poured tears, and the bandage over his other eye became damp as he cried. "I—It should've been me…" Steven muttered, sobbing into his hands. Pearl gazed at him worriedly, she was at a loss of what to say, and she could feel his guilt and anger coming off of him in waves as he sobbed.

"Steven, she's sure to wake up," Pearl began, holding Steven's shoulder as he swayed slightly, his whole body trembled as he fought back tears. He remained silent. Pearl couldn't tell if it was because he had calmed down, or if he had given up trying to speak for fear of crying again. Steven turned away from Pearl's analyzing gaze, biting his lip painfully hard as he held back another episode of tears.

* * *

They both strode through the doors of the hospital, Pearl kept Steven close at her side, and he dried tears out of his eyes, and wiped his nose on his sleeve.

"We're here to visit Connie Maheswaran." Pearl said, her face completely calm as she spoke.

"Right this way." The nurse uttered as he guided them through the halls, and opened a door.

"Connie!" Steven said, rushing inside quickly. He shuffled his feet nervously as he walked, he strode towards Connie's bedside, he immediately licked his hand, and put it to her forehead, hoping and praying his healing would work.

"Where are her parents?" Pearl asked worriedly,

"Connie's mother is in the waiting room asleep, and her father went to...take a breather." The nurse responded.

"Thank you." Pearl said, holding the door open for the nurse as he left.

"Pearl…" Steven uttered, his voice trembling as he spoke. "It's…it's not working." He turned towards her, his eyes met hers as his face filled with dread. He awaited her reaction, but there was none. Pearl had thought that staying strong in front of Steven would help him.

"You're too stressed, it's okay, it's not your faul—" Pearl began calmly.

"Do you even _care_ about what's happening?!" Steven yelled, tears flowed from his eyes as he looked Pearl dead in the eyes, anger and guilt filled his eyes as he stared.

"Steven, of course I ca—" Pearl quickly said, defending herself immediately.

"Really?! Because it sure doesn't seem like it!" Steven yelled, leaning in closer to her face. He turned away suddenly, realization striking his face as he turned back to Pearl, angrier than ever. "You…you wanted her to do this, didn't you?!" He screamed, his hatred mounted with every word.

"Steven, I don't know what you mean." Pearl said, her face was still calm, but knives of ice played underneath her cool exterior.

"When Connie was training! You kept telling her she didn't matter, that I was more important, that I was _everything_ for the mission, and I tried to pull her away from that, but look at what happened! She got hurt because of me! Are you happy now Pearl?! Do you think this is right?! Do you think I wanted this?! Can you even _begin_ to understand what this is like?!" Steven yelled, his voice climbed louder as he advanced towards Pearl, jabbing his pointing finger towards her as he advanced towards her. Pearl's face changed to anger immediately with his last sentence.

"Yes. I do." Pearl muttered through gritted teeth.

"No you _don't!_ " Steven bellowed, "You at least _knew_ there was _no way_ to help Rose because of what happened, you didn't have to _watch_ her _suffer!_ You didn't have to watch someone you _love_ get hurt and die because you were _weak!"_ Steven's voice cracked and he crumpled to the ground. His head was bowed as his whole body rattled with sobs. Pearl reached towards Steven, and put her hand on his shoulder. He quickly pushed her hand off him, recoiling in disgust and getting back to his feet. "Don't touch me!" He commanded, his face twisted with pure rage, tears still fresh on his cheeks as he spoke.

"Steven, you need to calm down, you could corrupt yourself—" Pearl began, seeing the warning signs in Steven's face.

"So _what_ if I get corrupted?! If I was corrupted I wouldn't be able to feel what I'm feeling! Maybe if I was corrupted, I could've protected Connie! Maybe if I was _corrupted_ you could poof me and bubble me away so _I wouldn't have to live with this!"_ Steven screamed, his rage and sorrow had all but consumed him. Pearl stood, staring at him with worry, her face not giving away a single detail of what she thought. She didn't break her stare with Steven as she reached for the bandages behind herself. She was at a loss of what to do, so she tried to accept Steven's accusations, and let him have his way, for his own good.

"You need to replace your bandages, they're soaked, and dirty anyways." Pearl said curtly. Steven's face contorted impossibly far with rage, his eyes burning with a hatred so strong Pearl thought he might shatter her, then he stopped. His expression changed, but Pearl couldn't tell what it was, was it fear? Confusion? Guilt? Anger? Steven shook his head slightly, and swiped the bandages out of her hand, glaring at her while he strode towards the mirror. He quickly untied the knot holding the bandage on his face, and peeled it away, his face twitched with discomfort as he felt the tear-covered bandage come off his face. He opened both his eyes, and blinked in confusion, he couldn't be seeing this, it wasn't possible. He rubbed his eyes, but it was still there. He reached a hand up to his left eye, cautiously touching the area around it. Splotches of bright pink played across the left side of his face, slight lines visible as veins spread from his eyelid. He looked over his left eye, it's iris was a bright pink, flickering with a low light. The iris itself shifted continually like liquid, and he stared at the veins that reached towards his iris from the outer corners of his eye. The white of his eye had become tinted pink, and he backed away from the mirror and screamed as the sparks of realization flared and took over his mind.

Steven was beginning to corrupt.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter written by @Zendo-mida on Tumblr


	3. Sometimes You're All I Can Think Of

Connie's eyelids flickered as she regained consciousness.

"Where.. am I?" Connie mumbled to herself, looking around. "I'm at.. a hospital?"

Connie wondered why she was in a hospital, her question being answered as she put a hand up to her forehead and felt stitches.

She had so many questions, and she was in a room alone where none could be answered.

Connie looked at the small table that was next to her bed, her eyes filling with dread when she saw what was on it. There were multiple cards, 9 in total, and all of them had "Love Steven" written on the front of them. Connie grabbed the card that was the closest to her, opening it up and finding a picture of herself and Steven drawn on the inside. _I hope you wake up soon,_ read the card, _I am sorry for not being quick enough to heal you._

Connie teared up slightly, throwing the card aside and grabbing another one off of the table next to her.

The card read pretty much the same thing as the last, the paper was just slightly more tear-stained.

This cycle went on and on, Connie grabbing one card after the other and only seeing the same "I hope you wake up soon. I am sorry for not being quick enough to heal you." written on the inside, each card more tear-stained than the one before it.

By the time Connie got to the last card, which she opened slowly, she was almost at her breaking point. On the inside of the card was a poorly drawn picture of herself right next to some writing that said "You're all I can think of.."

Connie set the card down, crying into her arm for a few minutes.

Suddenly, Connie heard the click of a door opening from in front of her. A nurse walked in, seeing Connie awake.

"Oh my goodness! You're awake!" The nurse said with a smile.

"W-wh-.. How did I-" Connie stuttered, not knowing what to ask first.

"You've been in a coma for a week and a half." The nurse said, walking over to Connie and standing beside the bed she was lying on. "Everyone has been so worried about you! They will probably be so happy to see you! Especially that kid that kept on coming in here and sobbing. Two days ago at three in the morning we found him sleeping on the floor in here!"

* * *

Connie was alone in the hospital room, waiting for her parents to arrive.

Suddenly, she heard the door click as it opened.

"Mom! Dad!" Connie immediately shouted as she lifted her head off of her pillow.

But.. It wasn't her parents.

Pearl stood in the center of the doorway, a look of guilt spread across her face

"I see.. You're awake." Pearl said nervously.

Connie shot Pearl a confused look.

"Why are you here?" Connie asked.

Pearl walked over to the bed Connie was lying on, sitting at the end of it and sighing.

"Pearl.. Are you okay?" Connie asked, looking at Pearl in the eyes.

Pearl was silent for a moment.

"I'm guessing you're wondering why you're in here." Pearl sighed.

"You.. Know why?" Connie asked, going wide-eyed.

"We were on a mission and a corrupted gem hit a wall of the ravine we were in," Pearl started, "then a rock avalanche started, which you and Steven started running away from. I don't know what happened from there, as I was not with you two when you started running, but I assume that you got hit in the head with a falling rock."

"That would explain this then.." Connie said, pointing to the stitches on her own forehead. "But.. Where is Steven then? And why didn't he just heal me?"

That last question made Pearl tear up as she remembered her argument with Steven.

"We haven't seen Steven in two days now.. We are afraid he ran away from home.."

"Why would he run away from home!?" Connie asked, tearing up.

"For about a week all he did was just sleep and sometimes come over here and talk to your unconscious body..." said Pearl, "But then three days ago he said he was gonna go and see you and then he never came back home..."

Connie couldn't believe what she was hearing.

"So then.. why didn't he just heal me?" Connie asked.

"He was too stressed for his powers to work..." Pearl responded, getting off of the bed and starting to walk towards the door to leave.

"Wait!" Connie shouted after Pearl.

Pearl turned around and locked eyes with Connie.

Connie was silent for a moment as she stared into Pearl's tear-filled eyes.

"Is there anything I can do to help you find him? Like.. Any information I could give you?" Connie asked.

Pearl thought for a moment.

"What place do you two hang out at the most?" Pearl asked.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter written by me


	4. I'm A Monster

"You've reached the phone of Steven Universe! Well, his voicemail. I'm probably on a super important gem mission or something. I'll call you back if I survive!"

Connie listened to the light-hearted chirp of Steven's voice with his voicemail. She had been calling Steven every half hour for the past three days. He never picked up. She tried texting him, and he would read them, yet never responded. Eventually he just stopped reading them overall though.

But she knew he was out there.

She just had to find him.

But the doctors wouldn't let her leave. She had tried asking, begging, she'd even cried a few times, but they said she wasn't well enough. So her phone was her only way of talking with Steven, or even hearing his voice.

"Hey…I know your uh...phone probably died, and you probably won't get this, but today's the day I get out of the hospital!" Connie uttered grimly, "Maybe I can look for you then…"

She had given up on Steven responding to her calls over a day ago. At this point Connie just wanted to hear his voice. She bit her lip slightly, thinking of where he might be hiding once again. The door to her hospital room opened and she looked up. It was Pearl.

"Connie, are you ready?" Pearl asked, striding forwards and reaching her arm out to help Connie get up.

"Yeah...yeah, I think I have an idea of where he might be." Connie mumbled.

"Good. I already checked the temple, and he's not hidden anywhere in funland, or in the town..." Pearl said, her face lowering as she became worried again, "I don't know what I'm doing wrong…"

"Pearl, you didn't do anything wrong. Steven's just blaming himself. If anything, it's my fault.." Connie said flatly.

Connie had all the facts in her mind. This was her fault, and it was as simple as that.

* * *

"So, why under the docks?" Pearl asked, confused as to why Steven would be hiding here of all places.

"This is where he saved me from this big gem-worm thing the day we first met." Connie said, her expression softening as she reminisced.

Pearl searched closer to the water, and Connie searched near the rocks that formed a small cave near the city. Pearl searched between pillars upholding the dock, and in small breaks in the structure where Steven could be hiding.

Connie approached the small cave under the docks, and gazed at the large rocks Steven could be hiding behind. She suddenly heard a voice; It wasn't saying anything, and it was barely more than a whimper. It was...crying.

"S-Steven?!" Connie asked, noticing the dirty white of his bandages against the dark gray and mossy green of the rocks. "Steven! I've been so worried!"

Steven turned abruptly, the hair not held down by his bandages standing on end. He got up, and relief played on his face as he saw her, but soon gave way to panic. He shook his head quickly and turned away, breaking into a sprint. He was holding something tightly in each of his hands; a phone and...a piece of paper? Was that a photo of herself?

"Steven! Why are you running!?" Connie shouted, quickly following behind Steven. Steven's breath shook uneasily as he ran, and Connie heard him sniveling.

"Steven, if running is hurting you, then why keep running?!"

Steven began to pick up his pace.

He bounded up the steps quickly, and slammed the door of the house behind him as he ran. Connie followed right behind, pulling the door back open as Steven rushed towards the warp pad.

"Steven! What's wrong?! Is it me?!" Connie asked, hoping that Steven would stop running.

He only looked her in the eyes and shook his head as he warped. Connie dove into the stream of light just before it vanished.

Seconds later, Connie found herself flying through the air, having appeared in a thicket. Light forestation around her. Steven was still at a full sprint, pushing twigs and branches out of his way as he leapt over bushes. Connie ducked between them, keeping her eyes locked on Steven.

"Steven, please...just tell me what's wrong!" She begged, willing her burning legs to keep going until she could catch up to him. She gained slowly on Steven, the forest and thicket giving way to an empty expanse. Connie reached for Steven's hand, pushing herself just a little farther. This is for him, She thought to herself.

Her hand met with his, and she held as tight as she could, pulling his arm softly to slow him down. Steven stared into her eyes fearfully. He was afraid of having to face her. She pulled him closer as they both decelerated, wrapping her arms as tight as she could around him. She dug her feet into the ground, hoping that it would slow him down.

"Steven...please…" She whispered, her voice barely audible as Steven came to a stop. She kept herself wrapped tightly around Steven, afraid to ever let go. She shifted her arms up and around his shoulders tightly. "Don't run from me, I care about you too."

Steven's face remained in shock. His lip trembled as he turned away from her, and he closed his eyes in anguish. His face changed abruptly, tears ceasing to flow from his eyes as an expression of worry washed over his face.

"Stay close to me." He muttered.

His voice was different; raspier and slightly deeper.

"Wh-what happened to your voice?" Connie asked confusedly.

Steven remained silent. He shook his shoulders out of her grip, reaching his arm behind himself and pushing her behind him. He summoned his shield, and Connie was shocked at what she saw.

The shield was a sickening shade; splotches of black and gray speckled across it, and the edges were jagged and sporadic. Spines reached out from the edges of the shield, and the rose design in the center was a sickly gray-pink color. Was the rose...wilting?

Steven raised his arm cautiously, holding the mutated weapon in front of him.

Steven's gem glowed as a bubble formed around them. Even his gem's glow was different, it shining a grayish-pink. And his bubble was no exception, as it was pink with splotches of black around it.

"Stay away from her." Steven muttered, his voice sounding more akin to a growl.

Connie stared at him with worry. What happened to him?, she thought.

Wolf-like creatures slinked out from the darkness of the forest, their manes of fur covering their eyes as they orbited the bubble that contained both Steven and Connie. Their dark green and gray fur blended in with the grass and bushes around them, but Steven tracked them around as they walked. Their teeth were bared as they advanced slowly as a pack.

"Steven, why are there so many?!" Connie asked.

The world around her was going at a million miles an hour, and she was still catching up.

Steven didn't respond, he only braced himself as the corruptions around them dove towards their bubble. Their claws scraped at the bubble, and they bit at the smooth surface. Connie stared at them with horror. She had never seen a corruption without having her sword with her before.

They were all at a stalemate for several seconds, before one of the corruptions managed to pierce the bubble from the top with it's claws. The whole thing dematerialized with a loud pop as Steven gave a loud yell.

"Stay away from my Connie!" He screamed, his voice grinding against itself as he yelled.

Steven lashed out towards the closest corruption with the sharp edge of his shield, and poofed it in one strike. His gem began to glow again, that sickening pink light forming a blooming rose. Bright pink images of rose petals formed around them, dancing before their eyes as time went on.

"Steven?! What are you-"

"I said stay away from my Connie!" Steven shrieked, his voice cracking as his face contorted with rage. The petals around them wilted slightly, and the swirling vortex of rose petals around them became too thick to see out from. Connie gazed at the rapidly flying rose petals, trying to see through them in vain. Wind pulled at her shorts as the vortex spun, raising Steven's shirt and tugging at his bandages.

Sharp whines and squeals were heard from outside the tornado of rose petals, and they faded away as Connie looked at what had happened. Around Steven all the grass had been drained of life, a gradient from green to brown showing the centerpoint of his actions. Steven quickly ran around, gathering the gems of the poofed corruptions. He summoned that sickening bubble around all of them, and sent them off as he tapped the top.

Steven's bandages began to slide off of his face.

"Steven, your bandages…" Connie began.

Steven only shook his head in response, tears forming in his eyes once again as he turned towards her.

"Y-you shouldn't be close to me..." He stated simply, tearing off his bandages to reveal his whole face. Connie gasped, looking at the pink patches of color on his face that mixed with his own skin color, the dark pink veins spreading from his left eye as he looked towards her. Connie saw the eerie pink glow in his left eye, and he averted his gaze shamefully. "I'm...I'm a monster…"

"Steven...you just saved me. A monster wouldn't do that." Connie reassured, gripping his shoulders tightly and pulling him closer.

Steven just shook his head and crumpled to his knees, sobs escaping from him as he fell into the dirt.

"Every corruption is a monster!" Steven wailed, covering his face with his hands.

Connie's face drained, but she wasn't going to back down.

"Steven, you can't be corrupted, you're still-"

"Look at me, Connie! I look like when Jasper got corru-" Steven's voice trailed off, and he turned away from Connie fearfully. "Jasper...I'm...I'm no better than Jasper…"

"What?! Steven, Jasper wanted to hurt people-"

"I wanted to hurt people, Connie! I wanted to hurt the people who hurt you! I just attacked dozens of gems by poofing them because there was a chance they might hurt you! How does that make me any better than Jasper?! I'm willing to do anything to get what I want, and I'm corrupted! The only difference is that I hate myself for it!" Steven yelled, his mouth opened as he let out choked sobs.

"Steven, you're protecting someone. You're protecting me." Connie began.

"But I couldn't even do that right! Even if I can heal you, I can't stop you from hurting inside because I'm corrupted! Even after I let you get hurt once, I'm still hurting you! So stay away from me before I accidentally hurt you more!" Steven spoke through strangled coughs and sputters as he wept. "Just...just go away! I don't deserve you…"

He bit his lip to hold back tears, and yelped with pain.

Steven's teeth had sharpened.

"It's….it's getting worse!" Steven yelled.

He got up quickly and began to run, but Connie leaned into him with a bear hug once again.

"I'm not letting you leave. I'm not letting you hate yourself over something that I did." Connie whispered. She was on the brink of tears. "If I hadn't dragged you with me when we were running, none of this would have happened…you're corrupted because of me."

"Connie, please don't blame yourself, please," Steven begged, his face pained as he looked into her eyes. The pink of his iris flickered as she gazed at him.

Silent tears were running down both their faces.

"I'm sorry." Connie said, quickly leaning in to embrace Steven.

"I...I'm sorry too." Steven responded, returning the tight embrace.

They both pulled away, and Connie looked into Steven's eyes worriedly, searching for the right words to say.

"We'll...we'll get through this, okay? Together." Connie whispered.

"Together." Steven responded.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter written by Zendro-mida on Tumblr  
> Fixed and grammar checked by me


	5. Imaginary Butterflies

_Connie heard heavy breathing, and all she could see was darkness._

_But.. Why?_

_Was this some sort of.. out-of-body experience?_

_Or maybe she had been knocked out again somehow, yet still was slightly conscious._

_But.. No.. It didn't feel like any of those. It didn't feel like.. Anything._

_It just felt like she was somewhere and nowhere at the same time._

_Almost as if she was... **In a dream.**_

_The breathing stopped abruptly, being replaced by an eerie silence that made her uncomfortable._

_Suddenly, she opened her eyes, looking around herself._

_It appeared to be nighttime, and she was in the center of a large field. The moon glowed brightly above her, the stars also twinkling in a beautiful manner beside it, which slightly comforted her._

_"H-hello?" Connie called out, shivering with fear, "Is.. Is anyone there?"_

_There was no response, the only sound being the slight breeze that blew against the grass beneath her feet._

_She gulped, gaining up enough confidence to start walking._

_Nothing in this world seemed.. Real. Sure, she could feel the grass beneath her bare feet, and sure, the breeze was making her shiver slightly. But something in the back of her mind was telling her "Don't be afraid of anything. Nothing around you is real."_

_That was the moment when she saw a single white butterfly flutter in front of her eyes._

_"Oh no.." Connie muttered, going wide-eyed._

* * *

Connie screamed slightly as she woke up from her dream, which also woke Steven up.

"What is it, Connie?" Steven was quick to ask.

A blush quickly spread across Connie's face as she met eyes with Steven.

"Did you have a nightmare?" Steven asked, getting out of his sleeping bag and rubbing his eyes.

Connie nodded yes.

"I promise you we will figure out how to cure my corruption in the morning, Connie.." said Steven, "Maybe having you sleep over wasn't the best idea.." he sighed.

"No! Steven, I'm fine. Until you're back to normal, I'm not gonna leave your side." Connie reassured him.

Steven looked at the floor, blushing, then looked back up to Connie.

"Can I maybe.. Sleep by your side?" He asked.

Connie went wide-eyed.

"I mean.. S-sure! I-if it would make you f-feel better." Connie stuttered, sweat running down her forehead as she nervously grinned.

Steven joined her on his bed, which he let her sleep on since "She's the guest."

"Goodnight, Connie." Steven whispered as he shut his eyes and pulled the covers over himself.

Connie took Steven's hand in hers, gripping it tightly.

"Goodnight, Steven."

* * *

_Connie opened her eyes._

_"Right back where we were before, huh?" Connie muttered as she looked at the familiar dark field in front of herself._

**_A white butterfly slowly fluttered over to her, landing on her shoulder._ **

_"This place is weird.. I wonder why I'm even here.." Connie whispered to herself, then starting to walk._

_Eventually Connie came to a halt as she heard a faint whisper that sounded somewhat distant._

_"Is someone there?" Connie asked, looking around herself._

_Suddenly, Connie heard another faint whisper, this one sounding closer than the previous one._

_"Hello?" Connie said with a shiver._

**_..._ **

_There was nothing but silence for a few moments._

**_..._ **

_"He's here." Connie heard a whisper say, it sounding like it was only inches from her ear._

_"Who's here?" Connie quickly asked, looking in all directions and trying to spot what could possibly be the source of the whispers._

_She got no response, so she decided to just keep walking._

_That was when she heard it;_ _A faint hum coming from a distance, accompanied by the familiar sound of a ukulele._

_"Steven!?" Connie shouted._

_She started sprinting toward the direction of the music, and after pushing her way through some tall grass, she found herself standing behind Steven, who was sitting on the ground with thousands of butterflies swarming around him._

_He must had heard her, because he abruptly stopped humming and playing his ukulele._

_"Connie.." Steven started, "Why did you have to come into my dream..." he said with a whimper._

_Connie searched for the right words to say, but she couldn't think of anything._

_Suddenly, Steven turned around, meeting eyes with her._

_"I'm sorry if I_ _sounded rude... I just.. I don't like you seeing me like this.. That's all.." Steven said as he tossed his ukulele aside and put his face in his knees._

__

_"Steven.. You have nothing to worry about.. I.. We can fix your corruption in the morning.." Connie said tenderly._

_"Connie, that's not what I'm worrying about.." Steven said as he stood up and wiped tears from his eyes, "I'm worrying about.. You.."_

_"Steven, we already talked about this. I'm fine.." Connie said as she slowly approached him._

_"But.. What if I corrupt more and try and hurt you? Or what if you get hurt again on a mission in the future and die!? Or what about if-" Steven trailed off as Connie hopped at him and wrapped him in her arms._

_"Steven.. Everything is gonna be alright.. I promise.." Connie muttered while holding back tears._

_Steven didn't say anything in response, he only returned the hug and pulled Connie closer to him._

_"I hope.." Steven whispered._

_In that moment, everything around the pair disappeared, leaving them falling in an endless void._

_"I hope, too.." Connie muttered back in response._

* * *

Connie opened her eyes to find that it was still nighttime out. She looked to her side and saw Steven wasn't lying beside her anymore, nor was he lying in his sleeping bag on the floor.

"Steven!?" Connie called out.

"I'm down here.." Connie heard Steven say from downstairs.

Connie hopped off the bed, walking down the stairs and finding Steven standing in front of the window that was next to the door. She walked up beside him, lightly leaning her head on his shoulder.

"Do you promise me you won't worry about me anymore?" Connie asked.

Steven nodded yes in response, wiping tears from his eyes.

"Good.." Connie said with a nervous chuckle.

The pair was silent for a moment, both of them looking out the window and admiring the night sky.

"Should we go back to bed?" Steven asked.

"Yes, but there's one thing I wanna do first.." Connie muttered.

"What is it?" Steven asked, then going wide eyed as he felt Connie's lips touch his cheek.

**The butterflies then all left in one big swarm, but that only made room for more to come later.**

**A single butterfly remained,** **though, and that was the one on Connie's shoulder.**

**Oh, how troublesome even one butterfly can be.**

**_Troublesome enough to make someone tear their mind._ **

**But that can't happen to humans.. At least from what Connie knew.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter by me


	6. Swarming Guilt

Connie's eyelids fluttered open as she felt the warm rays of the morning sunshine coating her face. She gazed around her and felt Steven's arm wrapped over her shoulders, one of his legs tangled with hers at the ankle. She took a breath, and enjoyed the momentary bliss.

She knew it wouldn't last long.

With the events in her dreams still fresh in her mind, she slowly turned in Steven's arms, looking towards his face. She gazed at him for a second, then raising her arm in the tight space between them and poking his nose; not too hard, but enough for him to wake up.

"Boop!" She whispered.

Steven's eyes slowly opened, and after he rubbed them a few times he smiled.

"G'morning, strawberry." Steven muttered, his eyes sparkling with joy.

He took a deep breath, then brought his fingers up to Connie's hand, intertwining his fingers with her's. They laid like that for some time, gazing into each other's eyes and enjoying the bliss of their closeness. As time went on, Steven's pure enjoyment of the morning faded as he remembered the events of the night before.

**He felt a butterfly crawl along his shoulder, and he wondered if Connie could see it too.**

"Today is the first day of training," Connie whispered, gazing into his eyes worriedly. "W-we don't have to go if you don't feel comfortable yet. I could just say that my injuries still hu—"

"No, no, I'll…I'm gonna wear the bandages. I don't want Pearl to see this.." Steven uttered, the light in his corrupted eye dim.

He gave a weak smile, baring his sharp teeth.

"What about Garnet?" Connie asked, "Won't her futu—"

"She'll have seen this conversation." said Steven, his face hardening, "But if anyone's going to understand the importance of me letting them know at my own pace, it's me."

"Okay, remember, Pearl won't be trying to kill me. The worst she's ever given me is a scratch; and you could just heal that." Connie reassured, pulling Steven closer to her in a hug. "We'll figure this out, okay?"

"Yeah, I know, I just...I hate seeing you get attacked.." Steven said, his face melting with worry and care.

 **A couple more butterflies hovered around his head**.

"And if something were to happen to you because of me again…" Steven started.

"Don't think about that. It won't happen." Connie interrupted Steven, fearing a conversation that dark.

She pulled away from their embrace, and kept her hands on Steven's shoulders.

"You and I should probably get ready." Connie said.

"Okay, I'll go get on some cloths, and you go get your training outfit on and braid your hair." Steven said, his eyes looking into Connie's; that unsettling pink iris flickering as he spoke.

They both let go of each other's shoulders, and strode away quickly to get ready for training before Pearl arrived.

Steven opened a drawer and picked out a simple red tank-top with a yellow star on the chest, along with some dark blue shorts that stopped just below his knee. He grabbed the roll of bandages next to his bed, and began wrapping them so that he hid the part of his face covered with pink splotches. When he was satisfied nobody could see evidence that he was corrupted, he looked into the mirror for a moment, putting his hands on his hips.

**He quickly raised a hand to brush away the butterflies on his shoulders, most of them taking flight as he did so, yet still following close behind him.**

"Connie, are you ready?" He called over his shoulder, listening intently for her reply.

"Yeah! Just a sec!" Connie responded quickly.

Steven heard her footsteps jogging lightly around the corner. Her hair, tied in an elegant braid, bounced and swayed as she ran, and her usual training clothing was clinging to her by her waist, elbows, and knees.

**Steven was slightly afraid as he saw several butterflies trailing her as she ran.**

"Alright, let's go." Steven said absentmindedly.

Steven and Connie both strode up to the warp pad, sitting down and awaiting Pearl's arrival. For a few minutes, they both sat in silence, leaning onto one another for rest. They both contemplated the situation, **a number of butterflies hovering before their eyes.** Eventually the familiar sound of the warp pad radiated throughout the house, **and the butterflies all faded into the backs of their minds.**

"We're ready to train, ma'am." Connie said, rising from her seated position quickly.

Steven quickly followed after Connie, showing a look of resolve to hide his fear.

"U-uh, yeah, me too!" He tacked on.

Connie gave him a sidelong look, and he blushed a deep pink.

"Steven, is there a reason you still have your bandages on? You should be fully healed by now…" Pearl began, reaching toward his bandages.

"No! I mean— I…it still hurts. I'd prefer to keep them on, Pea— I mean ma'am." Steven responded nervously, shying away from Pearl's hands as she reached for his bandages.

"Oh…I guess that's okay, but your depth perception will be ruined." Pearl said, turning away to gather items for their training, "Oh! And by the way—Amethyst will be joining us today! She wants to see how you two have progressed!"

Steven and Connie locked eyes nervously as Pearl was turned away, and they gave a silent exchange of mouthed words.

"Your shield!" Connie motioned her arms in a circle to signify her meaning of the word shield.

"I'll just say I don't want to use it!" Steven mouthed, shrugging nervously.

"That isn't gonna work." Connie chastised, putting her hands on her hips.

"You have a better idea?" Steven raised his arms in annoyance.

Pearl turned towards the two once again, and the two teens abruptly stopped their silent conversation.

"Pearl, I'm not going to uh… use my shield today." Steven muttered nervously, staring at his shoes as he spoke.

"Steven, why would you fight without your shield?" Pearl questioned.

"What if something happens and I can't use my shield? Shouldn't I at least know how to fight without it?" Steven asked, his face showing poorly hidden fear.

"I…okay... If you insist." Pearl responded, ushering Connie and Steven towards the warp pad.

The warp pad's sound played in their ears, and with a flash of bright blue light they were at the sky arena, Amethyst already waiting for them at the warp pad.

"Took you guys long enough! And why is Steven still wearing those bandages?" Amethyst asked, picking an unidentified substance from her teeth as she spoke.

"I'm still injured." Steven said flatly, walking past Amethyst, "Let's just start training."

"Steven, what's with the rush, man?" Amethyst asked.

"Just excited to start." Steven replied curtly.

"Well…alright then. Let us begin!" Pearl shouted, raising her arms as smoke enveloped all of the arena.

Steven and Connie stayed close to one another, and Connie's hand slipped into Steven's; a habit she had of doing when nervous. Steven also gripped her hand tightly. They looked at each other one last time before holopearls flanked them from all angles. They lunged in unison, their uneven movements making them easy to dodge and destroy for Steven and Connie.

Connie sliced through the holopearls with ease, then glancing towards Steven to see how he was managing. What she saw shocked her momentarily.

Steven was fighting savagely. He was grabbing holopearls and crushing them in his bare hands, his face contorted with anger as he tore through holopearl after holopearl, ripping apart their bodies like a wild animal. His eye glowed slightly through his bandages.

**Butterflies swirled around his body as he fought, growing in number as he became more aggressive.**

"Steven, cool off, your eye is—" Connie was interrupted as she felt a holopearl's sword brush up against her windpipe and stop abruptly. The hologram gazed up into her eyes without emotion.

"Error detecte—"

"Get away from her!" Steven yelled, diving towards the holopearl and wrapping his hands around its throat. He swung punch after punch into the holopearl, and after a final blow square to it's forehead, **it's form dissipated into a cloud of butterflies, their wings fluttering silently around them. They swirled around Steven once again, and he trembled as the thoughts ravaged his mind.**

"Steven, I'm okay—" Connie began.

Steven turned towards her, his eyes brimming with rage.

"How could you trust her?! She only wants you to get hurt for my sake! She wanted you to get hurt in the avalanche!" He screamed, small pink splotches stretching out from under his bandages.

**The butterflies swirled angrily around him, growing in numbers.**

"Steven, she doesn't want me to get hurt!" Connie reassured, pulling Steven closer. "The holopearl stopped just before hitting me! They're designed to not injure me!"

"I don't care! It tried to hurt you! It…it deserves to get hurt because of that!" Steven screamed, shaking and cradling his head in his hands as he curled into himself, "She deserves to hurt because she—no! No she doesn't!"

Connie stared in horror at Steven. He was completely stuck in his own mind, and his corruption was ebbing away at his will. She could tell every fiber in his body was telling him to attack Pearl - to stop the source of her injury. He was resisting his corruption, but his control was fraying.

**Butterflies of her own appeared, dancing around her as worry eclipsed her mind.**

"Steven, calm down-" Connie began.

**She was fearful as the swarming butterflies invaded the sky above them, their shifting forms spiraling down towards Steven's trembling body.**

"Get away from here! It's not safe for you!" Steven bellowed, his eye glowing brightly through his bandages.

**The butterflies had sunk down into Steven, their light molding into his skin. The swarm above them both viciously shifted and contorted sporadically.**

Pink splotches and veins snaked all across Steven's face, and he summoned his shield. His hair bristled as he prepared to fight.

The smoke cleared, and Pearl advanced towards the two quickly.

"Connie, Steven, I heard yelling! is every oka—" Pearl began, gasping as she saw Steven.

He stood, trembling as he glared at her.

"Go…away." Steven growled, his whole body heaving as he breathed, and shaking intensely as he resisted his anger and hatred.

**Butterflies angrily swarmed around him, and continued to cram into Steven's mind, adding fuel to his loathing.**

"Steven, in a real fight you couldn't just ask your opponent to leave." Pearl replied, walking towards Steven slowly, worry tinging her voice.

"I said go away!" Steven screeched as he turned towards her, his eyes brimming with hatred.

Pearl saw his shield.

"Steven, your shield—" Pearl began.

"I don't care about the shield! Just leave!" Steven yelled, his whole body shaking and heaving as he stopped himself from attacking Pearl.

**Butterflies continued to eclipse Steven's thoughts as they invaded his mind and steadily purged his hesitation to attack.**

"I don't want to hurt you…please." Steven said through gritted teeth and tears.

"Steven?!" Amethyst called out, seeing the commotion once the fog had cleared. "What's going on?!"

"Pearl won't listen." Steven spat, his voice barely more than a hiss.

**The angrily swarming butterflies were all but gone; every one of them was trapped inside Steven's head, twisting and corrupting his thoughts.**

"I'm sorry." Steven whispered before he even moved his arm.

His jagged shield flew through the air, the razor sharp edges trained on Pearl. She was too shocked of Steven's corruption to dodge, and was overwhelmed with guilt as she came to the conclusion that this was her fault.

_Shlnk!_

The jagged edge of the shield sank into Pearl's torso, and she gasped as she stared down at the shield. The wilting rose was mere inches from being submerged in her torso.

"I'm sor—" Pearl choked out, before her form dissipated into a cloud of air, her gem falling to the ground softly.

"Steven! Why would you do that?!" Amethyst yelled, advancing on Steven.

"I did what was necessary to protect Connie." He growled, turning towards Amethyst. "Stay away from her. I don't want to have to hurt you, too."

Amethyst backed away from Steven in fear, and walked slowly towards Pearls gem.

"Pearl…?" Connie whimpered, holding Pearl's gem in her hands.

Steven's face changed, and he was completely overwhelmed with guilt.

**Butterflies swarmed once again, enveloping both Connie and Steven. Their vision of what happened around them was blurred as the rapidly flapping wings of butterflies orbited them.**

"Connie! I—I'm sorry…" Steven began, drifting off as tears welled in his eyes. "I…I can't control it.. I try and I try and I try and I don't want to do these things but the longer you're in danger the more these thoughts tell me to hurt things and it just keeps building until I give in!" Steven slumped to the ground and wept once more, his tears soaking through his bandages and onto the ground. "I don't like hurting people, but all these thoughts just make it feel like it's the only answer!"

"I…I should've done something." Amethyst mumbled to herself, moving towards Connie. "I should've helped Pearl. I'm sorry." She said, rubbing her hand over the surface of the dormant Pearl gem.

"Steven, why would you do this?!" Connie asked, looking Steven in the eyes. She already knew the answer, but she asked anyways.

"I—I don't like doing this! This—this isn't me! I swear" Steven wailed, sinking further towards the ground as he sobbed. "I...I don't even know anymore. What if this is me?! What if I'm too far gone to save already?"

Amethyst stood, staring at the Pearl gem in Connie's hands, and walked away, numb. Connie held the gem in her hands cautiously, as if her life depended on it.

"I can…keep you safe until you reform…" Connie explained, holding the gem closer to her and glaring tentatively at Steven.

Steven didn't raise from his prostrate position, and continued to shake with sobs.

Connie turned and walked away.

**It wasn't healthy for her to be here.**

_**Too many butterflies.** _

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter by @zendro-mida on Tumblr  
> Editing and fixes by me.


	7. You Just Don't Understand How This Feels

Connie gently placed Pearl's gem on a pillow, then setting it on the couch.

"How long does it take you to reform? It only took Amethyst a few minutes that one time.." Connie muttered to herself.

She sat down on the couch next to the gem, rubbing her hand over it and feeling it's smooth surface.

"Don't worry, Pearl. You can count on me to keep you safe from..." Connie stopped talking abruptly, tears appearing in the corners of her eyes. "Why would he even do this? What did you do to him? I just.. Don't get it..."

Connie buried her face in her hands, sighing.

Suddenly, the sound of the warp pad filled the room, Amethyst appearing with a sad look on her face.

"Did you talk to him?" Connie was quick to ask.

Amethyst nodded her head yes.

"He said that he is gonna just.. Stay at the sky arena for now. I don't know what he's gonna do there, but all he did while I was there was just lay on the ground and cry." Amethyst said as she walked over to Connie, "So how's Pearl doing?"

"She's doing fine," Connie responded, "but how long does it usually take her to reform?"

"Well, I've only seen her reform a few times, and those times it took..." Amethyst bit her lip, "A few weeks." She said with a nervous chuckle.

Connie let out a long groan.

"How am I supposed to take care of Pearl's gem for two weeks!?" Connie shouted to herself in frustration. "My parents will start missing me if I'm gone too long, especially after I was in the hospital for so long... I already convinced them to let me stay over tonight, but convincing them to let me stay over for a few weeks; that isn't gonna happen."

Amethyst looked to Connie, then to Pearl's gem, then back to Connie.

"I'll protect her." Amethyst said, grabbing Pearl's gem and holding it close.

"Thank you." Connie muttered, making Amethyst blush.

"Can you take care of her tonight though? There's like, this totally cool party that Vidalia is hosting, and there's gonna be a chocolate fountain there!" Amethyst said with a nervous smile.

"Fine." Connie responded.

* * *

Connie laid Pearl's gem down at the end of the couch, then turning the lights off and lying down beside it.

"Goodnight, Pearl." Connie whispered, "I wonder what it's like in your gem while you're poofed. Are you just not there? Or do you hear me talking to you right now?"

Connie stared at the gemstone for a few seconds, then taking her eyes off of it and looking at the ground.

"If you can hear me right now, I just want to say... I bet Steven didn't mean what he did. Maybe he was just feeling bad at the moment and needed someone to release his frustration on..." Connie muttered, "I know him so well, and I know he would never do anything like that on purpose..."

* * *

Connie opened her eyes, immediately noticing that it was still nighttime out.

"Why would I wake up?" Connie whispered to herself, then rubbing her eyes and looking toward the end of her feet, only to see Pearl's gem missing. "Steven!" She shouted, just in time to hear the sound of the warp pad echo throughout the room.

Connie immediately hopped up from the couch, sprinting toward the warp pad, only to miss the stream of light at the last second.

"Now how am I supposed to get to him!?" Connie shouted to herself, her question being answered as she heard Lion yawn from upstairs, "Come here, Lion. We're going on a little trip!"

Lion ran down the stairs and almost knocked Connie over as he jumped up against her and licked her face.

"No time, Lion! We need to get to Steven quickly!" Connie said as she hopped on top of Lion's back. "Now take me to Steven!"

Lion roared and a bright pink portal opened in front of him, lighting up the whole room. He took a few steps back, then dashed toward the portal and hopped into it.

* * *

A portal appeared out of thin air, illuminating the area around it, and Lion with Connie on his back hopped out of it.

Connie immediately recognized where she was.

"This is where Steven's dream was the other night." Connie said to herself, looking at the beautiful starry sky and giant field in front of her.

She slowly climbed off of Lion's back.

"Thanks for the ride." She said to Lion, moving her hand up and gently petting him on the head. I'm gonna go look for Steven now, so stay here." she commanded him.

Connie knew that Lion wouldn't listen to her and would wander off eventually, but she had more important things to worry about at the moment.

"Now where could he be?.." Connie muttered to herself, looking in all directions and trying to spot any signs of movement.

That was when she saw it.

**A single, tiny, white glow in the distance.**

She ran toward the light, nearly tripping on a assortment of weeds and rocks that were scattered in her path. After pushing her way through some tall grass, there he was, holding Pearl's gem delicately in his hands with tears flowing down his face.

"Steven..." Connie started.

Steven looked up at her, meeting eyes.

Both of his pupils were now pink and glowed slightly in the darkness, and sitting atop his head was a single, white, glowing butterfly.

"Steven, your!-"

"Go away!" Steven cut Connie off.

"But I-"

"I said go! I can take care of Pearl! After all, this is all my fault!" Steven cut her off once again.

"Steven, it's okay! It isn't your fault, it's your corruption's!"

"Stop trying to convince me everything is okay when it really isn't! I just mess up again and again and you just keep trying to say it's okay when it isn't! I'm just hurting your life, and other's lives!"

"Steven, mistakes happen, and you didn't even mean to hurt anyone! You never would mean to hurt anyone! Don't you think that of anybody, I would understand that?!"

The last thing Connie said made Steven freeze it position and soften his expression.

"You just..." Steven covered his face with his hands, " _Don't understand how this feels_..."

Connie slowly walked up to him, putting a hand on his shoulder.

"Well maybe I can." Connie said, lightly smiling.

"What?" Steven asked, uncovering his face.

" _Let's fuse._ " Connie said.

Steven's face turned red.

"C-Connie, you don't know what will happen if you fuse with someone corrupted!"

"Only one way to find out."

Connie grabbed Pearl's gem out of Steven's hands, setting it on the ground.

"So should we dance or should we just-" Steven was cut off as Connie wrapped him tightly in her arms.

They were both enveloped by pink light, and within seconds, Stevonnie replaced them both.

Only one of Stevonnie's eyes was pink, and all their teeth were sharp except for a couple in the front. Besides that though, everything seemed normal about them. Well, as normal as you can get with a six foot tall alien/human that has the mindset of a child and a gemstone for a bellybutton.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Written by me


	8. You're Supposed To Be A Fusion Of Love

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter written by me

Stevonnie stood for a moment, allowing the cool breeze to play over their skin. Their torn and faded blue tank-top rustled in the wind. They closed their eyes for a moment in bliss.

"I…I don't feel corrupted!" Stevonnie chirped, hugging themself in their arms. "I told you I could help!"

Stevonnie fell back into the grass, their hair flowing along with the blades of grass, lilting and swaying with light gusts of wind. They breathed lightly, the stars above them in the night sky flickering among the clouds.

"We'll…we'll be okay." Stevonnie whispered, closing their eyes and giving a crooked smile of gratitude.

They laid in the grass, almost asleep for what seemed like hours, when realization of why they were there crossed their mind.

"Pearl!" Stevonnie chirped, raising from the ground abruptly and picking up the dormant gem from the ground.

They held it in their hands and stared at it, contemplating.

"She tried to hurt you, Connie." Stevonnie growled.

"She was…training us. I think. It's…probably just corruption." Stevonnie responded to themself.

"W-wait, you f-feel it too!?" Stevonnie yelped, dropping Pearl's gem to the ground and gripping their head in their hands, "Connie, you need to get out of this fusion. _Now._ "

Steven began trying to pull away, and Connie clung to him all the tighter. Stevonnie stumbled back to the ground, not moving properly as Connie and Steven fought inside them.

"G-get _out!_ Connie! It's not safe for you!" Stevonnie yelled.

"I can help you!" They responded, "I can finally help you with this! I'm not leaving!"

Stevonnie's face twisted into a grin as their eyes began to water. They let out a nervous laugh, and began to utter a sound akin to a screech. Their wails and sobs twisted and merged with a morbid chortle.

* * *

Amethyst laid on the couch, burrito in hand.

"Where did Connie go?" Amethyst muttered to herself, "Why would she even be out at..." she looked at the clock on the microwave, "4:00 AM?"

Right then, the warp pad shimmered and Stevonnie's form appeared in the light. They stepped off the pad, immediately spotting Amethyst staring at them with wide eyes.

"What?" Stevonnie asked.

"D-Dude! Why are your cloths all torn up!?" Amethyst asked, backing away slightly, "A-And-"

"I got in a fight with a bear." Stevonnie replied, walking over to Amethyst and handing her Pearl's gem.

The fusion then started walking toward the kitchen.

"B-But why are you even here!?" Amethyst asked from behind them.

Stevonnie froze in their tracks, turning around and meeting eyes with Amethyst.

"What!? Because Steven is slightly corrupted means I can't exist now, huh!?" Stevonnie shouted, pacing toward Amethyst slowly, "This is the only way I can help him! I don't want him to feel this pain alone!"

"B-But, Steven- I mean.. Stevonnie, don't you remember what happened when Jasper fused with that corrupted gem a few years ago!?" Amethyst asked, tears appearing the corners of her eyes.

"I'm human, Amethyst! Maybe that's not how it works!" Stevonnie responded, leaning down and putting their face inches from Amethyst's.

"What... What happened to you?..." Amethyst asked.

Stevonnie chuckled for a few seconds, then sighing.

"You don't get it, do you, Amethyst?" Stevonnie started, " _Nothing has changed._ "

With a quick swing of their head, Stevonnie headbutted Amethyst and poofed her.

Her gem fell to the floor, only to be picked up by Stevonnie seconds later.

"Another to add to the collection." Stevonnie said with a chuckle.

The fusion started walking toward the door, stopping in their tracks when they heard the warp pad sound from behind them.

"Stevonnie!" Garnet shouted.

Stevonnie muttered something to themself, then turning around and looking at Garnet in the eyes.

"What is it, Garnet? Looking for these two?" they asked, showing Garnet Amethyst and Pearl's gems.

"This.. This isn't like you." Garnet said, vanishing her visor. There were tears in her eyes.

"What do you suggest I do? Sit there and watch Steven cry? No! I want to experience this with him. I want to be with him all the way through it. Even if it harms me!"

"Stevonnie, do you really think Steven would want this? For you, Connie, to put your life before his?"

Stevonnie's eyes went wide, and for a moment their form turned into pink light, but they didn't become undone.

"I'm not putting my life before his... I'm just... Trying to make this fair.. That's all." Stevonnie muttered with a smirk.

"You are supposed to be a fusion made of love. This," Garnet pointed at the Stevonnie, "this is not healthy. Unfuse _right now._ "

Stevonnie summoned their shield in front of them.

"And what if I don't?" They asked with a chuckle.

Garnet took a step toward the corrupted fusion.

"Then I'll do it myself." she said, her gauntlets appearing over her hands, "Stevonnie, I don't want to have to hurt you. Just unfuse right now before I have to use force. You will definitely regret it if you don't."

Stevonnie suddenly burst into laughter, collapsing to the floor and holding their stomach.

Garnet took a few steps back when she noticed a few drops of blood fall out of the corrupted fusion's mouth.

After a few minutes, Stevonnie managed to stop laughing, wiping their mouth of any blood that was dripping out of it.

"Y'know, it's funny how you act like you're stronger than me." Stevonnie muttered, then hopping off the floor and running at garnet with a clenched fist.

Garnet moved out of the way of Stevonnie's fist as they swung at her, then swinging at Stevonnie's bare stomach and landing a hard blow on it.

Stevonnie fell to the ground and laid there for a minutes coughing up blood.

"I... I just wanted to protect him..." Stevonnie muttered, then disappearing with a large flash of grey-pink light.

* * *

Connie opened her eyes to find herself laying on Steven's bed, covers over her. Steven was sitting at the end of the bed watching TV.

"Steven!" Connie immediately shouted, "W-We need to fuse! I-I can-"

"Stop, Connie!" Garnet quickly shouted from downstairs.

But Connie didn't listen. She scrambled up from under the covers and hopped off the bed, running in front of Steven.

"Here, take my hand." Connie said, holding her hand out toward Steven.

Steven didn't do anything. He only stared at her with sadness in his eyes

"Connie, why... Why would you do that?" he asked.

Connie tensed up.

"Fuse with me!" She ordered.

"Connie, stop!" Steven shouted, leaning away from her.

"Steven, you shouldn't have to feel this pain alone. I can help that. I can be there for you!" Connie said.

"Connie, I don't want you to get hurt any more than you already are. Please back away from me..." Steven said, meeting eyes with her.

Connie noticed Steven now only had one pink iris, the other eye looking the same as it did before he started to corrupt.

"Steven, your eye! You're uncorrupting!" Connie said with excitement.

"No I'm not." Steven replied, "How about you go and look in a mirror."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Bleh. Sorry for grammatical errors and awkward sentences, had to kinda rush this chapter. This morning I discovered Zen only had 8 paragraphs written because he has been having too much emotional stuff going on and he can’t focus and stuff. So I offered to just write the chapter for him. And, yes, the next chapter will also be by me. I want to give him a small breather from writing and then when he comes back, he will be better at writing than ever since they had a little break. Cya!


	9. Chapter 0

_"Wake up, Connie. It's 10 AM already."_

_Connie jolted up to see Steven standing at the end of the bed with a smile spread wide across his face._

_"We have a mission with Pearl this morning, remember?" he asked._

_"Oh yeah," Connie responded, "sorry for sleeping in so late. I may have gotten too into Under the Knife and watched it for 3 more hours after you fell asleep last night."_

_"It's okay," Steven reassured her, "I bet you'll be just as efficient on our mission as you would be normally."_

_"Hopefully. After all, Pearl is gonna be testing how efficiently we work together today, and I don't want to fail that."_

_"I don't wanna fail it either. There's no knowing how much extra hours Pearl will make us train if we do."_

_"I know, right? Well, we should probably get our morning started before it's too late."_

_"Okay," Steven responded, then walking down the stairs, "I'll make us some breakfast."_

_Connie hopped out of bed and stretched, then walking over to her bag that was next to the TV and taking her sword fighting outfit out of it. She walked down the stairs and over to the bathroom, where she shut and locked the door behind her and put on her cloths. When she looked into the mirror and saw her hair sticking out in hundreds of different directions, she grimaced and quickly grabbed a comb to try and straiten it out. It wasn't until about 5 minutes of looking into the mirror that Connie noticed something a little.. off about her face. By her hairline, there were a few pink splotches of skin, and one of her eye's pupils was slightly tinted pink instead of it's normal brown color. She quickly hopped back and let out a tiny shriek._

_"Steven, what's happening to me!" Connie quickly shouted, seconds later Steven bashing into the bathroom with his shield out._

_"What happened, Connie!?" Steven was quick to ask._

_"M-My eye! It was slightly pink! And my skin was also pink!"_

_Steven quickly looked at Connie's face, only to see that everything was how it normally looks._

_"Connie, are you sure that your lack of sleep last night isn't just messing with your head? Everything looks normal to me."_

_"What!?" Connie quickly shouted, then looking into the mirror and seeing that there was no longer the pink splotches of skin or pink pupil, "I.. I don't get it.. It was just there!"_

_"It's okay, Connie." Steven said as he put a hand to Connie's back, "You're probably just seeing things due to your lack of sleep."_

_Connie sighed, "You're probably right."_

_Steven then took his hand off of Connie's back and pulled her face close to his._

_"And if you're still feeling weird during our mission, I promise we can fuse to fight the monster," Steven said, warmth filling his cheeks._

_"I'd love that," Connie responded, pressing her forehead to Steven's._

_Steven leaned forward and softly pressed his lips to Connie's._

__

_"Ahem!" Pearl said as she walked into the bathroom, making Steven and Connie pull away from each other, "I didn't mean to interrupt anything, but are you two ready for your mission?"_

_"W-We still have to eat breakfast," Connie responded, her cheeks burning red._

_"You two should've been more responsible," Pearl started, "During the time you're eating breakfast, the corrupted gem in the ravine could be escaping. I'll definitely have to mark a few points off on your tests for that."_

_"W-We're sorry, Pearl." Connie frowned, "I was just up too late last night watching Under the Knife so it kinda threw off both of our mornings."_

_"Yeah, and you two were obviously distracted by something else," Pearl chuckled, then clearing her throat, "anyways, I think you two should take a break from kissing, and eat, so then we can get to the ravine as soon as possible."_

_"Yes ma'am!" Steven and Connie said simultaneously._

_The pair ran past Pearl and into the kitchen, where Steven popped waffles into the toaster and Connie took orange juice out of the fridge. Connie was done pouring the juice into glasses at the same time the waffles popped out of the toaster, which were quickly thrown onto two plates by Steven. The pair then sat down at the table and started eating as fast as they could._

_"Eat slower, you two. I don't want one of you to choke," Pearl called out from across the house._

* * *

_Connie swung her sword over her back and Steven got his "Serious Steven" face on, which could never be actually taken seriously._

_"Now, you two," Pearl started as she paced back and forth in front of the warp pad, "I know you two are dating and everything, but please don't let that get in the way of a battle."_

_"We know," Steven responded._

_"Good," Pearl responded with a small smile, "now let's go!"_

_Everyone stepped onto the warp pad, being enveloped by light seconds later._

_Pearl, Steven, and Connie appeared in what looked like a kindergarten; it being a very deep ravine with holes dotted across the walls. They all stepped off the warp pad._

_"Now, make slow movements so nothing here breaks and makes a loud noise. The last thing we want is to bring attention to ourselves." Pearl whispered._

_Pearl and Steven started walking, but Connie stayed in place right in front of the warp pad._

_"C'mon, Connie," Steven whispered, holding his hand out._

_But Connie wouldn't move. She only stood there as if she was paralyzed._

_"We've.. Done this before," Connie said._

_"What?" Steven whispered a little too loudly._

_"Steven, me and you defeated the monster but then an avalanche started and we both got knocked out. Pearl, when we started to run from the avalanche, we left you behind on accident and lost you."_

_"Connie, what are you talking about?" Pearl asked, going wide-eyed._

_"Pearl, you aren't even supposed to be here! You're.. Poofed!" Connie shouted._

_Pearl stood there silently, a single tear dripping from her eye. She suddenly was replaced by a cloud of smoke, her gem falling to the ground within it._

_"And, Steven.. You're corrupting," Connie said as tears streamed from her eyes._

_Right then, everything around Connie turned dark. She curled up into a ball and let out small sobs._

_"I didn't want this to happen... This could've been a normal mission, and then after it we could've gone and got ice cream like we usually do. But.. No.. Everything ended up bad," she said through whimpers, "and I guess my mind just wanted everything to go back to normal so that's what I dreamed of..."_

_Connie opened her eyes and saw a pair of glowing pink eyes staring at her, inches from her face._

_"I'm gonna have to just.. Make it through this though.. And then when everything is back to normal, we can all look back to this moment and.. Laugh."_

_The pink eyes slowly faded, but the darkness stayed._

_**A single butterfly landed in front of Connie, which she looked at and smiled.** _

_"I'm here," Connie heard a non-existent voice say._

* * *

**Out of the dream**

* * *

Connie opened her eyes to find Garnet standing over her, a tear sliding down her cheek.

"You sleep talk a lot," Garnet whispered.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took so long to write. Depression really knocks everything out of you and makes you inspired to do nothing, but I'm back now and I hope you liked this chapter!
> 
> (Chapter written by me)


	10. Confronting the Eyes

"What…what did you hear?" Connie mumbled, wiping tears from her eyes as she stared at Garnet's face.

Garnet searched Connie's eyes for a moment, worry plain on her face.

"It's okay to be afraid." Garnet reassured, putting her hand on Connie's face, "But you can't blame yourself for this."

Connie stared into Garnet's eyes; tears were pouring from them, slowly moving down her face and falling onto the bed sheets. Connie searched Garnet's eyes for a moment before backing away in her bed, sitting up against the wall behind her.

"Why? If I hadn't slept in that day the corruption wouldn't have been in that part of the ravine, if I hadn't rushed away and gotten hurt Steven wouldn't be blaming himself, if I hadn't convinced him to train even though he was corrupted he wouldn't have hurt Pearl! If…if I wasn't part of his life, none of this would've happened!" Connie yelled, tears streaming down her face.

"Nobody can only bring positive change, everyone is flawed, and however strong you may be, you're no exception. But think about all the other happy memories you two have together; The first time you met, the first time you fused, the time you spent with each other training, those hours you'd both spend watching movies together, your first kiss, what about those? What about how relieved you both feel to know the other is okay? That relief you felt when Steven came back from space? Imagine how relieved he felt when you said that you wanted to 'be part of his universe'" Garnet said, putting her hands on Connie's shoulders. Connie winced at the memories, afraid that the boy she fell in love with was turning into a monster.

"If I left n-now he'd be safer…" Connie began, "I wouldn't be able to h-"

"Connie," Garnet began again, "You two have been dating for a year now, right? Do you have _any_ idea how happy that made him? How happy that made you both?"

"I-It made us happy b-but now I'd j-just hurt him…" Connie stuttered, pushing back tears as she spoke.

"You may feel that way, but please believe me when I say leaving is the one thing you _cannot_ do." Garnet muttered, staring at Connie's face with concern.

"Wh-why? Why can't I just leave and stop being a Crystal Gem?! Why can't I try and make him happy?" Connie asked, her voice rising slightly as she talked to Garnet.

"Because you love each other, Connie, leaving would hurt both of you. I don't need future vision to see that." Garnet stated, tilting her face to the side and giving a comforting smile.

"Even then I'd probably screw up again." Connie responded, gazing away from Garnet and twisting the bed sheets under her hand.

"Hey," Garnet began, raising her hand to Connie's cheek again, "You two are meant for each other, and you're supposed to make more memories together, but in order to do that, you have to talk to him."

"I don't even know what to _say._ " Connie whimpered, staring towards her hands.

"That's okay. You don't have to say anything, just be there for him, he needs you now more than ever." Garnet said, "Right now you both might be in pieces, but those pieces fit together perfectly."

Garnet formed a half heart with each of her hands, then raising them in front of herself to form a full heart.

* * *

_"Steven…?" Connie began, walking towards the glowing eyes in front of her._

_The eyes squinted, and a low growl was heard, they shied away quickly._

_"Steven, I'm here for you, okay? I'm…I'm here to help, you don't have to protect me."_

_Another grunt and a growl as the eyes closed. The darkness receded and Connie found herself in an empty plain, grass flowing in the wind. She gazed into the night sky for a moment, and looked in front of her._

_"We're…meant to get through this, I know it."_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it was so short.
> 
> (Chapter by @zendro-mida on Tumblr)


	11. Searching For The Cur- Oh Wait Nevermind

Connie's eyes opened, gazing towards the ceiling. She shook her head slightly to pull herself out of the hazy state. Her hair flailed around her face, and she noticed the faint pink glow of her hair over her eye. Memories of the past week washed through her mind, and she slumped in worry.

"Connie, are you awake?" A gravelly voice whispered from the foot of the bed Connie was in. She was momentarily startled; she had hardly recognized Steven's voice.

"Y-yeah…" She muttered, holding her hand close to her face, trying to study how bright her eye was glowing.

"How are you… how are you feeling?" Steven whispered, his voice shaking slightly with concern.

"Well… guilty. I'm sorry for making us fuse into Stevonnie, I just…I just wanted to help..." She dropped her hand to the mattress abruptly, and studied the texture of the ceiling absentmindedly.

"I guess it's fine... If I were in the same situation as you I probably would've done the same thing..." Steven sighed as he twisted and got up from the foot of the bed. He quickly climbed into the bed next to Connie, stretching briefly, then placing his hands under his head.

"I'm scared.." Steven whispered. His irises were small trembling pink pinpoints, which fearfully stared towards the ceiling.

"I... I am too, but I'm sure we can fix this, somehow.." Connie slowly reached her arm around Steven's shoulder. The sudden touch startled him momentarily, his eyes darting towards the source immediately, then his expression softened and his irises dilated, the glimmering pink returning to as normal as a glowing pink eye could be, and Steven almost smiled. He gazed at Connie with pained eyes, and held her free hand tightly in his own.

"What could we do?" Steven asked grimly.

"We… we use science! We could try and find out how corruption works, and if we can do that… then we could make a cure!" Connie said, hope brimming in her eyes as she gazed at Steven.

"That… could work!" Steven said, quickly getting up from the bed, "C'mon, let's go grab a gem from the burning room to experiment on."

They both vaulted down the stairs. Steven's gem glowed a sickly gray-pink, and the light intensified into a bright rosy pink. The star design on the door lit up, and the door opened into Rose's room. The pair both quickly ran through the doorway, and when they got in, they spotted one of the veins of the Crystal Heart, which they quickly ran towards and hopped on, sliding down it and into the bubble room.

Steven hopped up and grabbed the closest bubble, which contained a yellow pyramid-shaped gem.

"Alright, let's go now!" he said, opening the door with a quick flash of light. His eyes gazed around the gem room as he strode out the door. Connie quickly followed behind him, and as she exited the burning room, she heard the door loudly close behind her.

"We should head to my house—I've got tons of stuff we can work with there." Connie said, gazing warily towards the bubble in Steven's hands. The purple-magenta hue of Garnet's bubble distorted the color of the gem within. Steven called for Lion, and they slipped into their shoes as they walked outside.

"To Connie's!" Steven said excitedly. Lion roared and a bright pink portal materialized and sent them to the front door of Connie's home. As Lion landed, they both vaulted off of the large animal and sprinted towards the door, bursting at the seams with hope and excitement as they ran up the steps.

"Mom! Is it okay if Steven comes over?" Connie yelled through the door, her hand already guiding the key towards the lock. A series of clicks sounded as the door unlocked, and Connie pushed the door inwards.

"Dr. Maheswaran?" Steven called, his voice echoing up the stairs towards Connie's room. There was no response.

"It's… just us, then," Connie muttered quickly, walking in, and slipping her shoes off quickly. Steven quickly followed suit, following her up the stairs to her room.

"Alright, so... how do we research this without letting the gem reform?" Steven muttered, staring at the gem bubble in his hands.

"I… I don't know," Connie muttered, placing her hand over the top of the bubble, and sliding her fingers off as she pondered. "We could… just put stuff inside the bubble?"

"That wouldn't work; we'd have to pop Garnet's bubble to do that so I could manipulate the gem—and I am not risking that with you here," Steven stated quickly, fearfully staring at the gem as if it could burst forth from the bubble at any second.

"I'm not letting you pop the bubble, either—it's too dangerous." Connie responded, wrapping her arm around Steven's shoulders and held him tightly close to her. "I have an idea; we pop the bubble, you spit on it, and then we bubble it again and we see what happens."

"No, Connie. If it goes wrong you cou—"

"I don't care if I could get hurt, I just want to help you!" Connie snapped.

"That's… that's just the corruption talking.." Steven said lowly. Pushing the bubble onto the desk in front of them.

"If you won't believe me, I can just prove it!" Connie stated, raising her hand to smack it down upon the bubble.

"Connie!" Steven hissed as he swiped the bubble from the desk as Connie's hand came crashing down. He held the bubble behind him fearfully, his irises once again pinpricks on his eyes as they trembled, staring at Connie, he shook from head to toe, frozen in place as he stared at her. "We… we can't do this. We won't even find a cure, anyways. We should just be planning for what'll eventually happen when I get fully corrupte—"

Steven was silenced as Connie quickly hopped forward and pressed her lips to his.

"That's not gonna happen," Connie said as she parted her lips from Steven's partially, "and even if it somehow did, I'd still love you," she whispered, leaning in yet again and kissing him. Steven's shock faded as he turned his head to deepen the kiss, and raised his hands to pull Connie closer, dropping the bubble behind him and kicking it hurriedly towards the wall. He suddenly separated his lips from Connie's, slight worry filling his eyes.

"W-we shouldn't…" Steven began, shaking his head momentarily in denial, then leaning back into Connie as he kissed her deeply. They twisted and both fell, side by side, onto Connie's bed, trying to get rid of all the space between them. Steven's gem began to glow, the light between them illuminating the room around them.

They both jumped in shock when they heard the front door unlock and creak open.

"It's my mom!" Connie mouthed silently, quickly raising herself from the lying down position.

"I know! I know!" He quickly responded, scrambling to get out of the bed. In his rush, he stumbled getting out of the bed, a stomp reverberating down the stairs.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Written by Zendro-Mida on Tumblr
> 
> Note from HeWasIncredible:  
> Sorry I couldn't write this chapter. I had too much schoolwork and I didn't wanna make you guys wait a long time for this chapter to come out.


	12. Everything is Okay, I Promise

"Steven, hide!" Connie was quick to whisper, "My mom will freak out if she sees your corruption!"

"What about your corruption!?" Steven asked a little too loudly, pointing at Connie's left eye.

"Damn it, I hadn't thought about that.." she muttered. "I'll just keep my eye closed."

"O-okay, hopefully that works," Steven whispered, then tiptoeing into closet and shutting the door behind him.

Simultaneously as Steven shut the closet door, footsteps could be heard walking up the stairs from outside Connie's bedroom door. Right as the footsteps stopped, two quick knocks sounded from the door, which made Connie jump with fear for a second before gathering herself.

"Connie, are you in there?" Priyanka asked.

"Y-yes, mom," Connie responded, "you can come in."

The door then opened slightly, and Priyanka cautiously peaked into the room before opening the door fully and walking in.

"So how have you been feeling? Has anything been hurting lately?" Priyanka asked, then sitting on the bed next to Connie.

"Well, I've been having a few headaches now and then, but I've been feeling great other than that," Connie responded.

"Good," Priyanka smiled lightly. "It's nice to have my daughter back to normal after so long.."

"Yeah.." Connie nervously chuckled in response.

Before Connie could say anything else, her mom pulled her into a tight hug.

"I-I thought you were gonna die when I saw you being brought into the emergency room.." Priyanka muttered, "Once I started crying, I just couldn't stop... There was blood all over your forehead a-and-"

"Mom, everything is fine now. There's no need to worry anymore," Connie cut her off mid-sentence.

"I guess you're right.." Priyanka responded, then pulling away from the hug and wiping her eyes of tears. "Just... I think I need to talk to Steven and his caretakers about the type of missions you get brought on.."

Connie sighed at her mom's last remark.

"Speaking of Steven, is everything with him okay?" Priyanka asked, "I don't think I've ever seen someone more sad in my whole career as a doctor, and trust me, that's saying a lot."

Connie winced before muttering "Y-yeah, he seems back to normal."

"Well that's good," Priyanka responded, the worry on her face fully dissipating. "The last time I saw him, he was lying beside your unconscious body and singing," she nervously chuckled.

Connie lightly smiled, feeling warmth fill her cheeks.

"You're lucky to be dating someone like him," Priyanka chuckled, "Even though him and his caretakers can be dangerous at times, he is still a very great person, and I hope you know that not everybody gets an opportunity to date someone like that."

"Mom, c'mon," Connie muttered as her cheeks burned hotter.

"Fine, I'll stop," Priyanka laughed as she got off of Connie's bed and started walking toward the door.

"I love you, mom," Connie called behind her mom as she exited the room.

"I love you, too, Connie," Priyanka responded, then closing the door behind herself, leaving Connie sitting on her bed alone.

Connie made sure to wait for her mom to walk back downstairs before whispering "You can come out now, Steven."

The closet door slowly slid open, and Steven tiptoed out of it, then asking "Does your mom always talk about me like that?"

"Pretty much," Connie chuckled slightly.

"I would think she would hate me after what happened to you.." Steven whispered, then picking up the bubble that contained the gem they were experimenting on off of the ground.

"Well.. she did at first," Connie sighed, "She was considering keeping me as far away from you as possible the first day I woke up in the hospital, but your dad quickly talked her out of it."

"Do you know what my dad said to her to change her mind?" Steven asked.

"I honestly don't know," Connie responded, "All I remember is that your dad came into the hospital room one morning carrying his guitar and a piece of paper, then took my mom out into the hallway and sung a song to her. My mom then walked back into the room and seemed to have a complete change of heart about you."

Steven went wide-eyed, then feeling his cheeks turn warm. "I know what my dad did to make her change her mind.." he sighed, "He sung her the song I was writing for you that I was planning on singing to you when you woke up.."

"You wrote a song for me?" Connie asked.

"Y-Yeah.." Steven chuckled nervously, "I was working on it for a few months, and I was originally gonna sing it to you on your birthday, but then after you went unconscious and everything, I felt like it being a present for you when you woke up would be perfect."

"But how do you think the song changed my mom's mind?" Connie asked.

"Well.. let's just say there's certain parts in it I think I was a little _too_ realistic," Steven responded with a chuckle.

"And what do you mean by that?" Connie asked, smirking.

Steven felt his cheeks burn hotter. "Let's not talk about that right now," he said nervously, "we have more important things to do."

"Oh, right!" Connie said, "How are we supposed to get out of my house without my mom noticing us?"

Steven looked around Connie's room for ideas, then locking his eyesight on the window next to the bed.

"We need to hop out the window," Steven replied.

"Are you crazy? I don't wanna be in the hospital again," Connie whispered.

"Oh, don't worry, Connie. I can just hold you while we gently float down the the ground," Steven said, making hand motions as he talked.

Connie blushed, then walking over to Steven. "Okay then, let's go."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I honestly have no excuse why this took so long to write. I guess I've just been super tired lately lmao  
> (Chapter Written By Me)


	13. I Was A Crystal Gem

“You ready?” Steven said quickly, standing with one foot in the open windowsill, holding Connie in his arms.

“Yeah, let’s go.” Connie responded quickly, giving Steven a curt nod.

Steven pushed his foot into the edge of the windowsill, propelling himself forwards. As he fell, they slowed down almost to a standstill, and Steven’s feet brushed across the ground for a moment before he carefully put Connie down.

“Lion, let’s get to the beach house.” Steven said quickly as the beast appeared in front of them. 

He helped Connie up onto Lion’s back, then got up himself, and within moments there was a roar, a bright pink wormhole, and they were in front of the beach house.

“Thank you, Lion.” They both said in unison as they vaulted off, holding hands as they ran up the steps of the beach house, and sprinted inside. As soon as they were inside, an angry voice raised a question.

“What’s the bubbled corrupted gem for? Want to poof someone  _ else? _ ” Amethyst growled, holding the pillow with Pearl’s gem in her lap. Steven turned away and bit his lip to keep from crying, took a deep breath, and turned back towards Amethyst.

“I said I’m sorry. I…I don’t understand how corruption works, but I would never hurt Pearl—“

“But you  _ did _ .” Amethyst interrupted, getting up quickly, and walking towards her gem room bringing Pearl’s gem with her.

“Amethyst!” Connie called, the purple gem froze in her tracks at Connie’s call.

“What, do you want to poof _ me  _ again _ ,  _ too?” Amethyst snapped angrily. 

“I…I didn’t m-mean to I—“ Connie began, before she was interrupted by Steven.

“Amethyst, I’m  _ sorry,  _ I don’t know what else I can do—we’ve been trying to find a way to fix this and…nothing’s been working it just keeps getting worse and worse and—“ Steven broke off as he began sobbing uncontrollably. Amethyst’s face changed and she put Pearl’s gem down carefully on the ground.

“Steven, I’m sorry I shouldn’t have—“ 

“No! No! Stay away from me I…I don’t want to hurt anyone else!” Steven screamed, curling up as small as he could make himself, and turning away from both Connie and Amethyst in fear.

“Steven, I’m sorry I…I don’t know how to help. I’ll leave you alone, it doesn’t look like me being here is helping.” Amethyst leaned and gave Steven a slight hug, and the boy trembled uncontrollably as he was held for just a moment, terrified of even the off chance that he’d hurt the purple gem.

“Steven, are you okay?” Connie asked worriedly, leaning down and putting her hand on his shoulder. His shoulders were shaking from silent tears, and he sat trembling until he heard Amethyst’s door close. Immediately, he turned towards Connie and kissed her. As soon as he broke away, he began sobbing again.

As he sobbed, he walked over to the closet, opened it, and reached in, pulling out Rose’s sword.

“Steven, what are you—“ Connie questioned.

“F-f-follow me...” Steven responded, his throat tight from holding back tears.

He walked slowly towards the Temple door, and his gem glowed as it opened to Rose’s room. He motioned for Connie to go inside. As she walked into the room, Steven followed close behind.

“Steven, where are we going?” Connie asked worriedly, seeing the tears on Steven’s face fall as he ran. The boy only shook his head and wheezed slightly. 

Connie watched as Steven slid down a vein of the crystal heart, and she followed him quickly into the burning room.

“S-Steven what are you—“

“I’ve been thinking about this.” Steven said, reaching up towards a bubbled gem. “This is the gem that got us both corrupted,” he popped the bubble, staring at the gem angrily.

“This…this is the gem? Th-the one that corrupted you, and poofed Pearl, and Amethyst…” Connie began, leaning and staring towards the gem as well.

Both the teens stared down the gem in Steven’s palm angrily as Steven’s grip tightened slowly on the gem.

“It  _ hurt  _ you.” Steven growled, a loud snap heard as cracks spiderwebbed across the gem.

There were loud footsteps heard, and Amethyst skid into the burning room.

“Steven?! What are you  _ doing?!” _ Amethyst yelled, staring in fear at Steven as his grip tightened on the cracking gem.

“It hurt Connie, it hurt me, it hurt Pearl, it caused  _ all  _ of this!” Steven yelled, throwing the cracked gem to the ground. Connie just stared as Steven threw the gem to the ground, the anger in the pit of her stomach keeping her from telling him to stop.

The gem crashed towards the ground, and all the pieces scattered all along the ground.

Amethyst stared in horror as the shards skid along the ground to her feet, and stared at Steven in disbelief. Steven stared at the ground where he had thrown the gem, trembling as he realized the gravity of what he’d done.

“I-I didn’t mean to th-the corruption it—“ Steven began before he broke down into sobs yet again. 

Steven scrambled on his hands and knees on the ground, gathering the shards in the palm of his hand, mumbling something nobody could make out through choked cries. Connie stared, frozen like a statue, her face stricken as she stared at the boy in pieces tried to put a gem back together again.

Steven trembled as he gathered the last of the shards, and put them in his palm. He manically spat on them, watching with a smile of euphoria as the gem shards glowed and began to meld back together. Though before they could re-form, the light fizzled out and the shards came back apart in Steven’s palm. He dropped the shards with a scream of guilt and frustration, and pushed himself along the ground to get away from the shards.

“Steven…” Amethyst began, unable to continue as she saw Connie rushing to Steven’s side, trying to comfort him. The boy only wept more and pushed Connie away.

The purple gem knew full well that she was out of her element, but wanted to try. Amethyst walked towards Steven, attempting to reach out and hug him, but he shoved her away as well, scrambling away from both her and Connie as he wept.

“Just leave me alone! I don’t want to hurt anyone else!!” He screamed, hugging his legs to his chest in fear as he begged Connie and Amethyst to leave.

Amethyst thought that’s what would have helped, to give Steven time to think, so she nodded, and left, glancing behind her as she walked out of the temple room. She gave a weak smile before she walked out the door.

“C-Connie.” Steven whispered, reaching towards the girl.

“Yeah? What do you need I—I want to help.” Connie began, tears in her eyes as she gazed into Steven’s quivering eyes. The pink pinpricks on his eyes that trembled everywhere he looked.

The boy shakily reached for his mother’s sword, handing it to Connie.

“K-keep everyone safe.” The boy said quickly, training the point of Rose’s sword on his torso.

“Steven, no—I’m not going to do that, no we can find a way to fix this—“

“It isn’t fixable. I’m sorry.” Steven muttered.

“No—Steven. I’m not doing this.” Connie said, dropping the sword and hugging him.

Steven only sat, stunned, numb as he felt Connie’s arms wrap around him, and eventually hugged her back. They wept into each other’s shoulders, heaving and trembling and hoping for it all to be fixed when they let go.

“We…are the c-crystal gems..” Steven began shakily singing, leaning forwards into the hug, allowing himself to be comforted.

“W-we’ll always s-save the day..” Connie continued, tears filling their eyes as they looked at each other.

Steven only gave a weak smile to Connie, and held the side of her face as they let go of the embrace.

“I’m sorry.” Steven mouthed.

Connie couldn’t react before the sword sank into Steven’s torso.

_ “I…was a crystal gem…” _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Written by Zendro-Mida on Tumblr

**Author's Note:**

> This chapter was written by me, and the next chapter will be written by the person I'm doing a collab with, so on so forth. Basically we will take turns writing chapters.


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